Google is pushing its Project Glass. But one CNET writer spends time with a bevy of cutting edge wearable computers, seeing what it's like to live a computerized life.<\/p>\n
Zeal Optics Z3 goggles sport a tiny monitor inside to let skiers track their speed, see vertical distance covered, and even map their location when they connect to a computer later. <\/p>\n
SEATTLE -- It was an unseasonably warm June evening, the kind of day locals rave about because they come so rarely. At 6 p.m., I hopped on my bike for an evening spin. <\/p>\n
My heart-rate quickly raced up to 157 beats per minute as I picked up my pace to 14 miles per hour up a gradual rise in the road. At the same time, my blood-glucose level dropped to 62 milligrams per deciliter, low, but not dangerously so for a non-diabetic. All in all, pretty solid data, given that the night before I slept six hours and 21 minutes, waking for brief periods 21 times during the night. <\/p>\n
Welcome to my cyborg life. Google has generated tons of press in recent days with its Project Glass, computerized glasses that lets users take pictures and find information. But it's hardly the only company pursuing wearable computing. And while Project Glass won't be commercially available for another two years at the earliest, there are plenty of companies selling devices that consumers can slip into and strap on to collect reams of data about their daily lives. <\/p>\n
Suunto's Ambit watch, which tracks altitude, location, speed, and heart rate. <\/p>\n
To get a glimpse of that future, I strapped on a bunch of those gadgets. Here's what I learned.<\/p>\n
In all, the gadgets I tested collectively ran into the thousands of dollars. I was decked out from head --with Zeal Optics Z3 ski googles that track speed and map locations -- to my feet -- with Adidas Resolution running shoes with the company's miCoach Speed_Cell sensor that keeps tabs on speed and distance run. I gathered a ton of information about health and fitness, though it wasn't my most fashion-forward moment. There were times, when wearing everything, I looked like a high school science experiment run amok. <\/p>\n
Wearable gadgets have been around for some time. Heart-rate monitors have been standard training devices for athletes for more than a decade. Pods that runners slip into their shoes have been around for years as well. And a new batch of gizmos have emerged that let users keep tabs on the number of steps they've taken, a popular new category that I also sampled. <\/p>\n
The business of wearable computing is on the cusp of becoming mainstream. That's because the cost and size of the sensors the devices use has dropped significantly over the years. And the ability to transmit the data those gadgets collect and receive has become seamless as many connect with the mobile smartphones that folks slip into their pockets or purses everyday. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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My life as a cyborg<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Google is pushing its Project Glass. But one CNET writer spends time with a bevy of cutting edge wearable computers, seeing what it's like to live a computerized life. Zeal Optics Z3 goggles sport a tiny monitor inside to let skiers track their speed, see vertical distance covered, and even map their location when they connect to a computer later Continue reading